We did our laundry Tuesday at the Rec Hall..I guess we now belong to the official "Winter Texan" club down here...people are remembering us from last year. Don, the bird photographer is parked next to us. Usually he is down in what is called the "primitive" camping..no utilities..but it is flooded this year so he is up here in the high rent district. He drives a white van and puts up a camoflage tent to sneak up on the birds..and he gets some beautiful photos!! He travels by himself, and is a regular here every year. Sometimes we see him in the rec hall using their computer to print his wildlife photos..some of his pictures are on T-shirts that you can buy here at the park.
We always meet interesting people here. I was wearing my "Murphy's Irish Pub" T-shirt Chris and John brought me back from Ireland and this lady asked if I had been there. I had to admit I was no world traveler, but I did get the chance to say,"no, my son got married in Ireland and all I got was this Irish T-shirt"..(I couldn't resist) ..anyway, she and her husband had been to Ireland many times and even own some land there. We got to talking and she said that she and her husband spend about 6 months during the winter in Texas. I had to ask where they call home, and she replied that "home" was Europe...Are you kidding me?? I was pretty shell shocked at that answer..I never thought to ask WHERE in Europe..Like I said, we meet some really neat people when we least expect it. I saw where they were camped...driving a pick up truck, pulling a u-haul carrying 2 motorcycles...and living in a tent..different strokes, I always say!
I have still been trying to sneak up on the green jays and get a few better shots.
Today I saw a beautiful Oriole but he left before I could stumble to my camera. I really need some khaki shorts and a jungle hat! I did get one of the jay and also a bird that looks like a cardinal, but isn't. Their name starts with a "PH" and has a "Y" in it, but I can't pronounce it, so I call them Pyromaniacs...Dennis is the only one who knows what the Hell bird I mean.
We are parked along a road that goes all through the park..Here is our camper from the road when we walked this morning..
...and this next photo I took moments later. These 2 ladies had their binoculars and were doing their bird watching from the TOP of the camper..note that cloudless blue sky..
I have been working on my "base" tan the past few days.. I get my sunglasses, book, ice water, watch(we must bake evenly on each side), chair,and of course, camera, and go to my own private little tanning spa..complete with the possiblility of wild pigs, snakes, and sand burs..here it is...
Have I mentioned the "fire ant"hills we found while walking this morning??.....
This community of those dreaded little biters was the size of Naperville..well, maybe not, but I thanked the "Poisonous Insect" gods that it was far from our campsite!!
This morning we got a visit from Harald and Judith from Minnesota..(yes, there are alot of Minnesota people down here)..they have been coming here for 10 years and we became friends a few years ago..They brought us some fresh grapefruit they got in "the valley". They came in for a bit and we had a good visit..they know alot about this area and I tapped their brains for a few ideas..They told us which place in Roma to go to for good "safe" Mexican food..Also, a beautiful church to see, and where to eat in Progresso MX if we decide to cross the border. I swear they know everyone down here, too. They are going into Progresso tomorrow so Harald can go to the dentist. I know, it sounds scary, but TONS of Americans come down here to get cheap prescription drugs, go to the dentist and also get glasses..soooo much cheaper than in our own country!
Well,Tomorrow is grocery day..We go about 25 miles to Rio Grande City to the WalMart and the HEB store. There is a town 10 miles from here called Roma, but not much in the way of grocery stores..It can be an interesting drive through Roma..Actually you can cross the bridge to Mexico in Roma, which we did once...I repeat...ONCE! I swear we were the only "gringos" over there..We felt like everyone was staring at us...could it have been the cameras hanging on my neck??? Maybe the shorts I had on..(they frown on shorts). We made a fast exit back across the bridge, paid our quarter and placed our feet firmly on USA soil. Progresso, which is about 70 miles South of here, is a much better place to cross ..It is deep in the valley ,and the valley is full of Winter Texans living in fancy RV Resorts...There are more Gringos in Progresso Mexico than Mexicans...I plan to cross there while we are here..
Enough of my rantings ..I leave you with a final photo of our "patio" where we enjoy our evening cocktails...I will post more in a few days....
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